mizztraveller

I think the situation's deteriorating, slowly but surely. Day by day.......

Here's today's satellite map.

On a visa run to Penang we discovered Tiger White wheat beer and enjoyed it a lot! We've today looked a a few 7-11s and Rimping and none of them sold Tiger beer of any sort. Does anyone know if Tiger White is for sale anywhere in CM?

Are you aware that there's war in Libya too?

But hey if ur polish, Indian, Syrian, Russian, Romanian, gypsie, u get it all free with a 3 bedroom hse in Hayes near Heathrow airport just f their convenience

Just saying. As I lived in London for las 30yrs. Now in Thailand

Rubbish! Just because it was in the Daily Mail doesn't mean it's true.

Who said anything bout it being in Daily Mail?? Hav u lived in UK? Or are u even British? So keep ur Rubbish to urself.

It certainly doesn't happen in Doncaster or Teeside, even though the Daily Mail, Express and Sun have all reported that it does. In actual fact, the Polish who came to Doncaster in large numbers because of direct flights have largely gone home. Five years ago there were dozens of little and big Polish shops around, now there is one in the town centre which is half the size it used to be and an odd one in back streets just outside town. When they first started coming, my mam was a little concerned, but she told me this year that she's sad to see a lot of them go back, some she knows from local shops who's husbands were laid off or unable to find work and others she didn't know. None were in council housing and in her words not mine 'They were good workers. You'd see dozens of them out, walking up to the industrial site at 4.30 every morning, must get the bus home because you don't see them coming back. Nobody about that time of day now'. I have no idea where they came from but the industrial site is 2 miles from her place. She knows as well as I do that no benefits-pampered local is going to walk a minimum of 2 miles in the middle of the night to get to a job that usually pays little more than the government gives them for sitting at home. She also always, not just since they've been gone, told me that they were really nice polite people, always clean and tidy and always passing with a smile and saying hello, often offering to carry bags for older people when walking their way.

Gypsies have always been a thing in England, not sure about the rest of UK, neither the problems or numbers are much changed to what they used to be, Syrians have been farmed out in smallish numbers to regional towns and have been welcomed from my reading of local newspapers in Yorkshire and the whole of the north east. Romanians I know nothing about as there aren't a lot in the area's I know about so I can't say anything about them either way.

But of all the nationalities there, Indians? Really? There was a lot of migration up to the late 1970's, but since then ehtnic Indians are on a very limited number of visa's issued per year - issued visa's include people bringing over family members and wives. They have been since I left school in the early 1980's. I know a lot of people from the Indian subcontinent (Note: They are not all Indian) but I don't know one who is on benefits. Really. I went to school with a girl who was in a 2 up 2 down with brothers and sisters, gran and grandad and an aunt and uncle and their 4 kids, staying until they could afford their own rent then some random uncle was coming over and going to stay with them until he got sorted out. They would rather do that than try for council housing, I don't know of any Brits who would be housed so compactly. And how many English people own corner shops? Pretty much none, because who wants to work from 6am to 11pm 7 days a week for not very much profit? Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi people have had the corner shop market tied up since I was at school too, and they seem to own most of the the smaller supermarkets that are open for very long hours. They are known wherever they go in the world to be industrious and hard working, and families go all chip in to buy that first business. I honestly haven't heard of any anti-Indian sentiment in England for 30 years or more.

I'm sorry if this this doesn't describe you, but your original post sounds like the rantings of a racist. Why would Hayes being near Heathrow be of any consequence? Most of the new migrants to any country in the world go where the work is, not where the airport bus drops them off.

I'm not sorry if anyone reading this disagree with my views, I won't apologise for them. I can't read things like this without responding, because if nobody responds to this kind of thing becomes normal, and I don't want to go back to a world where this kind of thing is normal.

Many thanks Wallich. I'll give them a call tomorrow. Do you know if their English is ok or should I ask a Thai friend to speak to them?

@billd766, This sounds brilliant. Can you also post the section of the manifesto that states where the money will come from.

But hey if ur polish, Indian, Syrian, Russian, Romanian, gypsie, u get it all free with a 3 bedroom hse in Hayes near Heathrow airport just f their convenience

Just saying. As I lived in London for las 30yrs. Now in Thailand

It has been like that in Canada for as long as I can remember. Even if you worked there all your life and then go back for a job and are paying taxes right away you can't get Health Insurance back until after 90 days on arrival. So you have to carry travel insurance or risk getting sick without it.

That is unless of course you are a Libyan or from Syria as then you get free Health Insurance right away, free English Lessons, and of course you don't have to work for at least a year as the government will take good care of you if you don't. Seems like the nicest dressed kids in the school these days are immigrants.

It seems that neither of these reasons are acceptable now!

Lucky for me I've never been outside the EU.

Wonder how they found out she had been living in the USA?

NB : it is all based on examining PASSPORTS. You now have to present them for hospital procedures in the UK - i have done this recently. So it's simple - ah madam you landed in the US in 2010 (for example) and your passport shows no returns to the UK until now (2015), and only short trips to (say) Mexico and Canada in the intervening 5 years. Conclusion : you live in the US !

I want, if the price is right, to get some toothpick covers printed for my sister's restaurant back home. Does anyone here have any idea where I can find such a place in Chiang Mai?

-snip- Why should Thailand make it easy for those economic migrants who are just looking to stay long term somewhere cheaper than their home country?

Hi, I don't consider those people economic migrants. The difference is that they don't move to Thailand expecting to receive monetary benefits. Those moving into the UK do expect that and that may be the primary reason they are moving.

Western Expats know they have to support themselves in Thailand or they will fail and perhaps have to go back home, if they are lucky. If an expat can meet the requirements to stay in Thailand he may well have more money than many Thais even if he's poor by our standards.

I would agree that at least part of the reason many expats are in Thailand is because they perceive it as cheaper, but they still have to pay their own way.

Cheers.

Yup for sure there are a huge percentage of people moving to the UK because they will be better off financially, whether simply by means of claiming benefit, or by higher salary, or it seems even a combination of both. I hear that Child Benefit or whatever it is called these days, can be claimed for their kids living in other countries.. how insane is that? But the root reason they emmigrate to the UK is for a better financial situation - meaning they are economic migrants.

economic migrant

noun 1. a person who moves from one region, place, or country to another in order to improve his or her standard of living

Whilst of course Thailand is not so stupid as dish out any of their few meagre State benefits to immigrants, there are plenty for whom the whole reason, not just part of the reason to be in Thailand is that it is considerably cheaper than living in the West. Nothing to do with 'perceiving' it as cheaper, which gives the impression of an illusion - it is a LOT cheaper. Fact. Especially so in the case of those 'expats' I am really referring to, whose biggest essential expense every week is beer, cigarettes and pootana.

So as such those people, even though they still have to pay their own way, are also enjoying a better financial situation and standard of living than they could afford in their home country, thus making them economic migrants.

economic migrant

noun

1. a person who moves from one region, place, or country to another in order to improve his or her standard of living

Mizztraveller. What's for the goose is for the gander.

Well it's just as well everyone doesn't have your attitude. I don't much like parting with my well-earned money but I very much like free education, free health care, free security (police, armed forces), good roads ........ etc, etc

I am more than happy with my attitude, just like the MPs and their rich friends I will put myself first I suppose you will also be happy if you are living in Thailand when you get your pension and the UK government steals your annual pension increases from you, while giving out so much of your hard earned taxes towards overseas aid etc,etc.

It's fairly obvious that we're very different people with different principles and see no point in continuing this debate further.

Over and out.

Mizztraveller. What's for the goose is for the gander.

Another bloody tax evader.

If he is then good luck to him. All he would be doing is helping to pay Foreign aid, MPs expenses and huge annual wage increases, benefits

for all the immigrants etc,etc,etc,etc.

And the NHS which the previous poster suggests the OP keeps a UK address so he can continue to use it's (free) service. Come on, you can't have it all ways.

If everyone paid their taxes, our good old NHS wouldn't be in such a sorry state.

We can't have it all ways???? The banks certainly do. If everyone paid their taxes, so all these MPs and their rich pals do?? haha, haha, haha.

Another bloody tax evader.

If he is then good luck to him. All he would be doing is helping to pay Foreign aid, MPs expenses and huge annual wage increases, benefits

for all the immigrants etc,etc,etc,etc.

And the NHS which the previous poster suggests the OP keeps a UK address so he can continue to use it's (free) service. Come on, you can't have it all ways.

If everyone paid their taxes, our good old NHS wouldn't be in such a sorry state.

Another bloody tax evader.

Triple and double entry Visa are now no longer available .

Its just the METV and single entry tourist visas which are avaiable

We got double entry visas from Cardiff consulate last week.

I haven't used another CM dentist for a clean since Elite but my husband has used the one on Moon Muang on the corner of soi 2 (I think that's correct) and he paid 800 baht for a really thorough clean which took around 20 minutes. I'll go there next time. However, I wouldn't hesitate to return to Elite for treatment. They fitted a crown on a broken tooth which required a root canal filling too and it was an excellent service.

When I used Elite for a clean I was very disappointed. 800 baht and was in and out in 5 minutes. Not at all thorough.

The ad states "Up to 75% off hotel bookings for Thaivisa members". OK, so it doesn't say there's an extra discount but it does suggest that those who aren't Thaivisa members don't get an up to 75% discount.

Oh I always look round and compare prices! I was wondering if I was missing something here. I think it's false advertising to state that there's EXTRA discount for Thaivisa members when it appears there isn't.

When I receive my daily updates from Thaivisa there's frequently an ad stating that Thaivisa users get extra discounts on hotel bookings with Booking.com and provide a link to the site. Wanting to book a holiday in Koh Lanta I took a look at this today but found the prices exactly the same going directly to Booking.com as using the Thaivisa link. Is there a code needed to get the extra discount? If so, how do I do this?

We've been to Vietnam several times and never even considering using anything except the dong as that's the currency in Vietnam! Why use dollars?

Throw it some food or a bone and it'll be your friend for life!

As this post has attracted the fish and chips aficionados I feel this is the time to get some answers. Now, pardon my ignorance.

While talking to a guy in my moo ban about fish and chips he identified two nearby restaurants. One as being "British style" and the other being "Aussie style". I failed to get a clarification at the time so now I bring the question here. What specifically makes British style fish and chips? What is the difference between British style and Aussie Style?

This may not answer the difference between those two restaurants but there is a big difference between a UK chip shop and an Australian one. In the UK its more basic, less choice, fish may be cod but theres no choice, its a battered fish and chips, salt and vinegar, wrapped in paper. An Australian fish and chip shop is a lot more sophisticated. Lots of types of fish and seafood on a big platter. You order what fish you want, they make it for you.

When did you last have fish and chips in the UK? It's years since I've had it served in paper - nowadays it's in polystyrene boxes. As for choice, there's usually cod, haddock, plaice and hake plus sausages in or out of batter, fishcakes, chicken ...... to name just a few.

About 2 years ago in Manchester. All the chip shops i visit use paper(but not newspaper). These are traditional fish and chip shops. You can get cans of Dandelion and Burdock, Cream Soda at some of them, pickled onions and even ask for scratchings. They don't sell burgers or pizza just fish chips, pies, sausage. The traditional chip shops are not as common as they used to be. More common nowadays is the Pizza, fried chicken, burger but they also do fish chips shops run by Mohammed from Bangladesh. Traditional fish n' chip shops still exist in the North.

What part of the UK are you eating your fish n'chips from? The Manchester shops i visit do use polystyrene trays though if you ask for gravy or curry. I think fish n' chip shops are slightly different in different regions e.g. the only haggis i have ever eaten is from chip shops in Scotland.

Best chip shop in Briton below ( but actually Charlies chip shop just up the road is better but doesn't have a dining area). No idea how it got won best Chip Shop in Briton. I would rate it at average to quite good.

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/success-on-a-plate-at-chippy-943336